Dead Girl
by TheCrimznFuckr
Summary: Eridan is reduced to the sad situation that is finding solace in a seemingly lifeless body after some bad news. Based off of the song "Dead Girls" By Aurelio Voltaire. I own neither the song this was based off of, or homestuck


Dead Girl

Chapter 1

A grey, cold sky loomed over the rain-drenched valley, which was once home to a ram-horned girl. Poor Aradia now lies motionless and lifeless in the ruins of her freshly demolished hive while a curious figure's silhouette drifts about in the horizon. The gait of this gangly Aquarius was as sloppy as it was hopeless. Just by looking at him one could obviously tell that he wished he were as dead as the girl he was about to stumble upon. All the while, a spunky Libra was skipping about the same valley on her way to inspect this death accompanied by her expert team of crime scene investigating scalemates. Terezi was once again assuming the lawful duties of alternia. If she didn't, who would; a troll who just died or another one who was about to? However, what's about to happen to Eridan is a pain that tore and slashed its way through him from the inside out, as appose to a more physical pain that Aradia endured.

"Cod… c-cod fuckin damn…" mumbled Eridan as he bumbled about. Of course, he had no obligation to make that fish pun, but he did it out of homage of the girl that had just rejected him. As he realizes what he had said, he remembers the entire exchange between him and Feferi that led him into this emotional torture.

As moirails often do, or at least are supposed to, Eridan invited himself to Feferi's hive. After sweeps and sweeps and sweeps upon sweeps he's finally racked up the courage to tell the empress-to-be painstakingly every single ounce of scarlet emotion that she causes him.

Not being used being under water, coupled with today's extreme anxiety; he fumbled a large amount in order to knock at the door.

"Fef! _Fef, open up!_" shouted Eridan with apparent whimsy as Feferi came to open the door mere moments after his exclamation.

"Oh, hey Eridan," screeched Feferi as she sprung forward to wrap her arms around Eridan's chest. "Look what sea-dweller finally decided to go and well… sea dwell!"

"W- What's that supposed to mean?"

"This is the 8th day in your life you've spent under water, you guppy!" chimed Feferi as she held up 8 fingers.

Eridan walked through her door, brushing her aside as he advanced towards her couch. "I did not come by to hear _that _junk again." said Eridan as he fell down into the luscious chair that occupied the center of her living room. The anticipation of the subject he was about to surface inflated inside of him as he feared that he would need to leave. But, he couldn't because for too many days he has put this off. It was high time she knew.

"So what did you come for? Just to be lazy on my couch all day, you lazy… couch… barnacle!" chimed Feferi.

"No… I just suppose I w- wanted a little company, is all…" It's not like this was a lie, part of his feelings for her were founded on a sense of being lonely. It was just that she was the only company he needed.

"Good thing I was just getting a little bored. Do you want to do something?" said Feferi as she herself fell next to Eridan on the couch.

_There's a number of things I want to do with you._

"Oh, we could, um-… Eridan?" She saw him looking a bit anxious, since he was sitting with his fist under his chin and his other hand's fingers tapped on the arm of the chair. He was sporting a desperate smile, with a laughter hissing out meekly.

"Aha, okay… hehe… just goin to spit this out, I g-guess… haha" breathed Eridan nervously.

"Eridan, what is it?"

_Here it goes jack-shit._

He stood up at attention abruptly and walked around for a couple of seconds.

"Fef, w-we can tell each other everything, right? _Everything?" _

"Well… yeah Eridan, that's what moirails do…"

"Okay, in that case, I havve the liberty to tell you that" his voice grew a bit softer "I am… v-very red… for you…"

Feferi's face was invaded by a fuchsia hue as silence thundered through the room. "What?"

There was no going back now. "You heard me, didn't you?"

"Eridan, look; as your moirail I am not sure what to say… but I do know that I should be honest with you and tell you that I'm not red for you at all." Feferi let out in a droll tone. This was followed by a faint frown that was caused not only because she had snapped his fragile heart in half over her knee, but because she had to face his spasmodic theatrics because of it.

Eridan thought of his many seemingly half-baked attempts at romance from the past, but stayed silent, not knowing what to do.

She knew it; after all of this time, it all made sense. Sure, perhaps there was an inkling of pale feelings from Eridan at one point, but knowing how dramatic he tended to be, it was without any doubt what so ever that Eridan only put on this pale façade to meet his red needs, which Feferi did not want to gratify. And why should she? She owed him nothing, what with how one-sided this so-called moirailegence has been all along. Besides, a suspicion of red feelings from Eridan had been there all along, but Feferi got along just thinking these were just farfetched conclusions, thinking she was safe from this awkwardness. Unfortunately, her scruples proved true.

He knew it: she had known all along that her feelings were as callous as his were passionate. Despite all of his discreet advances this scruple of his own had also proved true. He also knew that this would happen. _So,_ Eridan thought, _W-why in my right mind did I decide to do this?_ He guessed that it was probably more productive than lingering in the pale background of her life, but in this new sobering event he realized just how counter-productive it was. Now, neither one of them would be comfortable around each other for a while, even less so than Feferi already was around Eridan.

Figuring that he had done well enough up to this point, he spared Feferi from the wild reaction she was anticipating. He didn't have the energy for it. All he had the energy to do was act on his instinct to go back home silently.

"W-well, can't blame a fella for tryin'… haha." Eridan said in a feeble voice as he briskly walked out. Feferi let him go without a word.

Chapter 2

Eridan had come back to the surface intending to go home, but thought that it wouldn't do him any good anyway.

Instead, he went to the shore, and decided to take a walk. Past Gamzee's hive, Equius' hive and reluctantly past his old kismisis' hive. The sight of cerulean glowing through those elegantly crafted windows reminded him of the other time he had part with a girl from a sharp quadrant. It reminded him that he had no one left to love or even hate.

_So fuckin' be it. After this w-walk I'll go home and get shit done and stop bein' this damn embarrassment. Just some time, Eridan, All you need is some time. _

But that didn't happen. Rain began to pitter-patter across the landscape, and his pace began to slow down half an hour into his expedition.

The more he kept trying to force himself to forget how he felt, his irrational emotional endowment to Feferi kept shoving him back into sadness. He couldn't get these voices in his head to shut up about her. The more he walked the more he became exactly what he was trying to avoid becoming, and that was a sad, overly dramatic troll that cared only for his own emotions.

"I don't deserv-ve her anywway, " he sighed. "She put up w-with my horse shit for long enough… I guess it wwould be damn selfish to expect any more than _that._"

He tried even to convince himself that she wasn't even worth pursuing. He had come up with a list of her flaws that for a fleeting moment gave him a morsel of solace. However, the Pisces sign still was branded onto his heart, and its heat still blasted throughout his being, and boy did it hurt. She was a lascivious desire of his that he could never have granted. The best he could do at this point was to halt communication with her as to completely avoid making her uncomfortable or annoyed in any way, shape or form. That was the last thing he ever wanted to cause her. At least Eridan held her wellbeing in higher regards to his at this point, and he considered that as progress.

It was now that Eridan had never felt more alone. This time, he was alone both emotionally and physically. As he walked, there was hardly any movement for miles. The terrain was stagnant as the rain had died minutes ago. Greif once again started banging onto his think-pan, as if it were an angry landlord demanding rent. This time, it seemed to have wanted to be paid in willpower and what was left of Eridan's sanity.

_Could use a drink right now…_

Almost limping now, trapped in an internal strife with his loneliness; he lifted his head up to the sight of a destroyed building in the distance. A long-haired figure laid down a few meters aside from the wreckage.

Chapter 3

For some reason, Eridan felt compelled to approach the damaged hive. It was something to entertain his interest in an otherwise completely desolate valley. What really tickled his fancy was the girl he saw lying face down motionless. From what was left of what seemed to be her respite block, one could tell she was really into excavation. Judging by all of the shrapnel that surrounded the dead beauty, he thought that this seemed to be a fitful death. It looked as if she were subject to an avalanche of debris from uncharted ruins. _Rest easy, Aradiana Jones._

As he walked closer to her, Eridan was reminded of all the advances that he had not only made towards Feferi and Vriska, but also the plethora of people he had made an attempt at. The loneliness that was eating him presently was not something he was a stranger to. It was a heavy feeling that he had ever since he could remember, but now it was too heavy to deal with. The worst thing about this for Eridan was that he was in denial about it for his whole life. Until now; when he realized that he was all by himself, in a desolate valley where no one was even alive to judge him.

With a sigh he admitted his defeat to his pathetic emotional fate; he bent down to Aradia's corpse and lay down next to it. At first, he found it disgusting that he had been reduced to embracing a cadaver out of sorrow when he cradled her in his body, but that ideology had been evaporated in the satisfaction it gave him.

Never before had he tasted love that was so cool and smooth. As he rested his head on her hair that was draped on the ground, savoring what was left of its fragrance, he realized that this was all he ever wanted, or really needed.

At that moment, Eridan had discovered the pleasure of someone having someone who could never harm him, who was his unconditionally. With her, there was no pain, pressure, over blown humiliation, fear, or shame…

Or pulse…

He allowed himself the fantasy of her being alive and enjoying it as well as he was. His eyelids fell and he surrendered to his imagination. To him, she did not walk away like the rest because she couldn't, but because she wouldn't. This thought of Eridan's triggered him to tighten his embrace.

Faintly, the carcass opened up her eyes, but was too tired to move or speak. Aradia had not been killed, merely knocked unconscious. However, she still hadn't the energy to do anything. It was as if her mind woke up but her body was telling her that it wasn't time yet. She felt skinny, firm arms around her, but found them comfortable. Feeling safe in their arms, she went back to sleep, her breathing too faint for Eridan to feel.

As nice as all of this was for Eridan, he couldn't shake one fact from the back of his mind: This was a dead girl. Of course, only a dead girl could like him. Two hours had passed, and he figured he had kept this creeper stunt going for long enough. Besides, there's no point in trying to salvage a dead body in Alterninan culture; better to just let it rot. Eridan had to go home _eventually. _

The fact that Eridan had sunk so low so fast did a number on his ego. He got up with his eyes fixed to the direction he came from. He marched back to the shore with assertive steps, ridding the whole event from his mind. In its place, he adopted the school of thought that he didn't need affection anyway. It was a waste of time that leeched off of more important things.

Chapter 4

A few minutes after Eridan had left in a huff, Aradia once again came to. She sat herself up, noticing the absence of the warm arms that she had woke up in before. Amongst the green canvas that was the valley, she caught a purple cape swaying in the horizon. She knew she could not scream loud enough for him to hear her, but she tried anyway. She was right, not a single response.

"…Come back." she murmured.

_"Well, it was nice while it lasted_" the both of them thought

As she got up to assess the damage to her house, Araida realized that she had hardly any recollection as to what went on. Thankfully, Alternia's finest in criminal justice had come by in the distance.

By the time Terezi had arrived on the scene, Aradia had made herself comfortable on her bed, which by some miracle wasn't completely obliterated.

"Oh, Aradia you're alive! That's great!" Terezi shouted as she dashed to her side. "Are you alright?"

"… Yes, I feel alright I guess…" Aradia said, raking her fingers through her dusty hair.

"Aradia, you seem to have gone through a lot… is there anything I can do for you?"

"No… It's alright…" these words drifted out of Aradia's mouth as she was mainly focusing on the one who was holding her moments ago.

"Do you remember anything?"

Aradia looked around. "No… but I'm going to miss my hive… and my lusus…"

"That's alright Aradia, I'm here to help. Now, did I hear you screaming earlier? I _did _see Eridan on the way here."

"That was Eridan?" She had only heard of him through her friends gossiping about him. She thought of going after him with Terezi, but she knew Eridan thought she was dead. It didn't feel right, despite her yearning to feel him behind her again. Besides, there was someone else to hold her anyway.

"Terezi…"

"Yeah, Aradia?"

"I want to go home…"

"But- but your hive?"

"Droog's... can I get an escort, officer? My daddy must be worried sick." Aradia said with whimsy.

"My pleasure." Terezi said as she stood up. She took Aradia's arm and they made a journey to the Midnight Crew base. This gave them the opportunity to talk, giving Aradia some more fitful peace of mind.


End file.
